POTTSVILLE, Pa. — Sunbury Press has released From Blue Ground, Joe Harvey’s historical YA novel about a brother and sister trying to solve the mystery of their late father’s murder.

Set in 1876 in the coal hills of Pennsylvania, the story follows two unwitting orphans, Patrick and Sissy Hughes, who are propelled on a desperate journey after witnessing the murder of their father. They carry with them a wooden box retrieved from a secret compartment beneath their father’s bed. His dying words to them: “keep it safe, keep it hidden.” Powerful men are looking for what’s inside the box and they will do anything they can to get it.

One hundred miles to the South, large crowds have gathered at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia. Patrick and Sissy’s father had promised to take them there for the Fourth of July celebration. Instead, they are running for their lives. Alone and on the run, they are pursued by their father’s murderer, James McKenna, a Pinkerton Security Agent who is working undercover investigating the Molly Maguires for the Philadelphia and Reading Railroad. Patrick and Sissy’s only hope is to unlock the mystery of the contents of the box: a diary, a translucent blue stone and a bag of blue ground. That hope lies in Philadelphia with Henry Carvill Lewis, a professor of mineralogy at the Academy of Natural Sciences. As they make their way to Philadelphia, their pursuers grow in numbers and Patrick and Sissy must fight against time and the odds to stay together.

EXCERPT:
Years later, when the ghosts of his childhood had long since faded, Patrick would remember the wooden box as clearly as the night he and his sister had found it. He remembered every detail: the pieces of scrap wood it was made of, the broken hinge that didn’t quite hold the lid, the frayed twine that was wrapped around it. It seemed strange that he would remember such an ordinary thing because, like every box, the box itself was not important. It was what was inside the box that mattered. The same was true of this box. Its contents sent Patrick and his sister off on an unexpected—and unwelcome—adventure.

It began with a warning in the small hours after midnight on July 3, 1876. Patrick nudged his sister across the bed. “Sissy, are you awake? Sissy?”

Sissy was fourteen, just two years older than Patrick, yet she had been a continued source of comfort to him since their mother died, when he wanted her to be, that is.

“What is it Patrick?” Sissy asked, still half asleep.

“I heard something.”

“What?”

“I don’t know . . . a noise.”

“What kind of a noise?”

“I don’t know . . . . Did you hear the whippoorwill?”

“The whippoorwill? That’s just a dumb bird.”

Patrick didn’t think so. The Native Lenape believed that the bird’s call was a bad omen, a warning that it intended to capture someone’s soul to carry it to the spirit world.

“Well, I heard something,” Patrick said.

Sissy propped herself up on her elbows and listened. She heard only the sounds of the sleeping mountain: crickets, an owl, a distant loon. “I don’t hear anything, Patrick.”

Patrick sighed. Bothered, Sissy listened again. Still silence. “It’s nothing Patrick—probably that ol’ black bear down from the mountain to scratch at the smokehouse again. Papa will scare it off. Now go back to sleep.”

I won’t be able to go back to sleep, Patrick thought. I’m sure I heard something—maybe it was a banshee. He pulled the blanket close to his nose, his eyes widened. Papa’s room lay just beneath their bedroom loft. If there was something outside, surely Papa would have heard it, he thought.

A cool mountain breeze moved the curtains and cleansed the cabin of the thick summer air. Their family’s cabin lay deep in the folds of Pennsylvania’s Appalachian Mountains, in the heart of the eastern coal region. Patrick and Sissy’s grandfather named the wooded hill where they lived “Shannon’s Hill” after the river in Ireland where he had made his living before coming to America during the Potato Famine of the 1840’s.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Joe Harvey is currently a fourth grade teacher at Saucon Valley Elementary School in Hellertown, PA. He began his career teaching music. Joe received his bachelor’s degree in education from Millersville University and his Elementary K-6 certificate from DeSales University. He holds a Master of Arts from West Chester University and has conducted historical research in the field of musicology, identifying a lost symphony by the mid-nineteenth century American composer William Henry Fry. He is six credits shy of a Master of Education from DeSales University. He is married to his high school sweetheart, Kara. They have two children. Outside of teaching, Joe loves to read, write, play the guitar, watch the Iron Pigs and root for the Phillies.

TICONDEROGA, N.Y. — Sunbury Press has released Perilous Journey: The Two Faces of Benedict Arnold, the late Ted Brusaw’s historical novel about the Revolutionary War accomplishments of the controversial general.

Few Americans are as controversial as Benedict Arnold, whose name is synonymous with treachery and treason. Arnold was one of the heroes of Fort Ticonderoga, who later became frustrated with the pace of the Revolutionary War and the politics. At a time when all of the patriots were under threat of death for raising arms against the British crown, he caved to the pressure and flipped sides. Ted Brusaw recounts these events with historical accuracy, adding depth and detail only achieved in a novel.

EXCERPT:Still wearing the uniform of a Massachusetts militia colonel, Benedict Arnold returned the salute of the sentry outside General Washington’s headquarters and entered the building. Pausing to allow his eyes to adjust to the relative darkness, he was surprised to see that General Washington’s headquarters looked remarkably like all the mercantile establishments he had seen during his many years as a merchant. It was crammed with writing desks and tables heaped with documents. Papers were even stacked on the floor, leaving hardly enough space to walk, and officers sat at the desks scratching away with quill pens. In the fireplace, a small blaze kept a kettle of tea hot.

Arnold recognized General Horatio Gates, General Washington’s adjutant general, from descriptions he had heard around army headquarters and campfires. Gates was a squat man of fifty who peered through thick spectacles out of a beefy, red face. Slightly stooped with straggly hair, he looked more like a fussbudget of a schoolmaster than a general. In spite of his appearance, however, he had a reputation in the army for being bluff and hearty with soldiers.

“General Gates, I am Colonel Benedict Arnold, just returned from Fort Ticonderoga,” he introduced himself, aware that Gates would recognize his name. “I have a proposal I would like to submit to General Washington.”

He casually looked Arnold over, took the proposal, and sat down to scan it. Then he rose. “Wait here, Colonel,” he said. “I will take your proposal to General Washington.”

Gates returned twenty minutes later and escorted Arnold to the inner sanctum of the commander-in-chief of the Continental Army. General Washington stood to greet him. Washington was in his early forties, a man of commanding presence who stood 6′ 2″ and weighed perhaps 190 pounds. His reddish-brown hair was tied in a queue at the back of his head, and wide-set blue eyes looked out from a face that had been scarred by smallpox. Defective teeth showed when he smiled.

“Good day, Colonel,” he said, looking down slightly at the 5′ 8″ Arnold. He motioned to a chair. “Please have a seat and tell me about yourself. Are you married? Do you have children?” Arnold’s proposal to march to Quebec through Maine’s stark wilderness intrigued Washington, and he wanted to size up the man before determining how seriously to take it. Arnold took the offered seat and looked up at the still-standing Washington.

“I was recently widowed, general, and I have three young sons back in Connecticut with my sister.”

Washington seated himself opposite Arnold. “Please accept my sympathy for the loss of your wife. So you are from Connecticut, but you wear the uniform of the Massachusetts militia?” Washington’s brows rose slightly to turn the statement into a question.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
Charles “Ted” Brusaw (1931-2015) graduated from Clarksburg High School (Clarksburg, IN) and served in the Air Force for four years. Ted graduated from Miami University (Oxford, OH) and retired from NCR (Dayton, OH) in 1986. He was the co-author on many text books and had three novels published.

HARRISBURG, Pa. — Sunbury Press has released Healing Tips for the Mind, Body, and Soul by Arif M. Shaikh, MD.

A Note from the Author:

How I see the world:

From where I sit and view the world, It helps me constantly change.

I become a physician because I wanted to help people, only to realize, that I cannot help anyone; but learn from everyone.

Someone once said, “If a doctor listens to the patient, the patient will tell him what is wrong. If a doctor listens more carefully, the patient will tell the doctor what he should do about it, and if the doctor listens more carefully, the patient will tell the doctor what is wrong with the doctor.”

About the Author:
Dr. Arif M. Shaikh graduated from the Ross University School of Medicine, Roseau, Dominica in 1987. He works in Steelton, PA and 1 other location and specializes in Family Medicine. Dr. Shaikh is affiliated with Penn State Milton S Hershey Medical Center and Pinnacle Health at Harrisburg Hospital.

Praise for Healing Tips:

“You are my friend as well as my physician. The book Healing Tips is a plethora of information. Many talks we’ve shared over the years have brought to light and many pieces of advice for both of us. As Ben Franklin once said, ‘Something well done is better than well said.’” —John Cavalier

“I loved your book Healing Tips. I have been meaning to tell you how beneficial my visits to you have been. Your book and your encouragement and overall positive approach have been profoundly helpful in restoring my self-image and providing insights into the root cause of my problem.” —Stan Stohl

“Thank you for your insightful book. It has been very helpful to me as I reflect on choices I have made in my life and the consequences and outcomes that have followed. The healing tips in your book, on your website and when I see you in the office make me realize some of the destructive behaviors I have allowed in my life and MY ability to make positive changes. It is no one else’s fault but mine if I can’t be happy. No one controls my happiness except me—I am the only person that can allow someone to take my happiness away.” —A. F.

Courtney begged to matter. It was only when Rebecca showed up, beaten and bruised, in the ditch that ran between their homes that Courtney realized: she wasn’t the only one. Together, they built a bridge—a physical bridge to hide beneath, as well as an emotional bridge to take them back to the little girls within themselves; the ones they’d had to leave behind in order to survive. A murder, an adoption, new friends, a paralyzing accident, teenage pregnancy, homelessness, and the haunting echoes of years of abuse come together in the story that follows a young girl and her friends discovering that, even against the odds, nothing is ever in vain. Courtney Frey’s story, based on the truth of her own childhood and young adult life, demonstrates that finding love starts with purpose. The author conveys through her own character her search for that purpose, as well as the desire to be needed, wanted, loved, and validated—and how continually seeking those things dramatically shaped her formative years. In a story about searching for self-love, enduring family dysfunction, surviving abuse, and fighting back, Courtney Frey reveals to the reader the secrets of her emotional journey and how she discovered that writing was, at times, her only lifeline.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Courtney Frey is an author, speaker, wife, mother of three grown children and grandmother to two granddaughters. She currently resides in Iowa, has a B.S in psychology, is a birth mother, and is an advocate for mental health and women’s issues. She can be contacted through her website www.courtneyfrey.org.

BOSTON — Sunbury Press has released The Savage Apostle, John Kachuba’s historical novel, set in 1675 Massachusetts.

In 1675, when the body of Christian Indian John Sassamon is dragged up from beneath the ice of Assowampsett Pond, speculation is rife as to who murdered the man. Sassamon was a man caught between two worlds, that of his Wamponaug ancestry and that of his adopted English society; people on both sides could find cause to kill him.

John Eliot, missionary and founder of the Praying Villages where Christianized Indians lived among the colonists of the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies is particularly grieved by his protégé Sassamon’s death. Eliot had converted the young Sassamon, educated him at Harvard, and trusted him as missionary to the Indians, especially to the Pokanoket and their sachem Metacom. Eliot knows that converting Metacom and his people could be the key to lasting peace between the colonists and the Indians, a fifty-year peace that is dangerously unraveling.

Metacom finds his authority and sovereignty once again undermined by the Plymouth authorities when three of his closest advisors are arrested for the murder of Sassamon. Pressured by his people to retaliate, but knowing the disastrous consequences war with the English would bring, Metacom struggles to find a way out, just as Eliot tries to keep the two sides from falling into a war that could only end in ruin for English and Indians alike.

Thoroughly grounded in years of research, The Savage Apostle, is an exciting and colorful account of the events leading up to King Philip’s War, the costliest war per capita ever fought on American soil. Moreover, it is an exemplary lesson for today’s world where divisiveness and conflict are so often brought about by racial and religious intolerance.

The author has included a helpful Discussion Guide in the book for teachers and book clubs.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:
John B. Kachuba is the award-winning author of six books of nonfiction and one short-story collection. Four of these books are about ghosts and he is a frequent speaker on paranormal topics at libraries, universities, and confer-ences and on TV, radio, and Internet podcasts. The Savage Apostle is his first historical novel, although he has written prize-winning historical short stories. His short story, “The Reich Photographer’s Tale”, about Hitler’s personal photographer, won the Dogwood Fiction Prize.

Kachuba holds advanced degrees in Creative Writing and often teaches such writing at Ohio University, Antioch University Midwest in Yellow Springs, Ohio and at the Gotham Writers Workshop. For interviews, appearances, or virtual book clubs, contact him through his website: http://www.johnkachuba.com

EXCERPT:
We buried John Sassamon but a few days after the soldiers pulled his body from beneath the ice at Assawompset Pond. The grave diggers struggled to work their spades through the cold, brittle earth, finally gouging out only a shallow grave. Still, it was better he should lie in this hasty grave than wait for spring. Now, as the falling snow of a February storm hissed in the trees, I committed the man’s soul to eternity and the mercy of the Lord.

Constable Howland, the woman, and the two Indian gravediggers from the village shivered beside me in the cold, listening to my eulogy. Snow swirled around the five of us huddled at the graveside, at times obliterating us in a white fog, at others revealing us suddenly as ghosts.

The cold gnawed at my old bones. The storm muffled my words but it mattered little. I offered them up to God and heard them rise on the frosty air like the ashes of sacrifice. I could do no more. Not for this man.

The woman stood mutely beside me wrapped in a painted deer hide, her face blackened with soot in the old ways of mourning. She had spoken few words to me since I had arrived in Nemasket and I understood that Algonquian custom would never again allow her to speak aloud the name of her dead husband, lest his spirit be called back to the land of the living. It was just as well.

Many times had I wished the same custom would bind my tongue. Speak not in judgment, I thought, lest ye be judged. Yet, John Sassamon’s death was a blow to me. What more could I have done to prevent it?

Sunbury Press has released Gotham Graves Volume One, Joe Farrell and Joe Farley’s first volume in their new series about famous people buried around New York City..

The Joes ventured to the Big Apple and its boroughs to visit the graves of the rich, famous, and infamous. This first volume of the Gotham Graves series focuses on those persons interred in and around New York City who were interesting figures in their times. Farrell and Farley have combed New York City to bring you the most entertaining biographies about interesting people buried in New York. Included in this volume:

MECHANICSBURG, Pa. — Sunbury Press has released the bestsellers list for November, 2015. Barbara Trainin Blank took the top spot with her biography Mary Sachs: Merchant Princess. Steve Troutman’s The Penns’ Manor of Spread Eagle … took the #2 spot.

SUNBURY PRESS – Bestsellers for November, 2015 (by Revenue)

Rank

Last Month

Title

Author

Category

1

NEW

Mary Sachs: Merchant Princess

Barbara Trainin Blank

Biography

2

—

The Penns’ Manor of Spread Eagle and the Grist Mills of the Upper Mahantongo Valley

Steve Troutman

History

3

17

A Pennsylvania Mennonite and the California Gold Rush

Lawrence Knorr

History

4

—

The Trevorton, Mahanoy and Susquehanna Railroad

Steve Troutman

History

5

NEW

Darkness at First Light

J M West

Detective Thriller

6

—

Call Sign Dracula

Joe Fair

War Memoir

7

14

The B Team

Alan Mindell

Sports Fiction

8

5

Where Elephants Fought

Bridget Smith

Historical Fiction

9

22

Pit Bulls

Anthony Julian

History

10

—

Geology of the Mahanoy, Mahantongo and Lykens Valleys

Steve Troutman

Earth History

11

—

The Closer

Alan Mindell

Sports Fiction

12

7

Rising Hope

Marie Sontag

YA Fiction

13

3

The Bronze Dagger

Marie Sontag

YA Fiction

14

30

That Night at Surigao

Ernie Marshall

History

15

5

The Alabaster Jar

Marie Sontag

YA Fiction

16

NEW

Murder in Tuxedo Park

William Lemanski

Detective Thriller

17

19

Raising Monarchs

Sue Fox McGovern

Nature

18

1

The Keeper of the Crows

Kyle Alexander Romines

Thriller Fiction

19

—

The Sign of the Eagle

Jess Steven Hughes

Historical Fiction

20

8

The Segregated Georgia School for the Deaf

Ron Knorr & Clemmie Whatley

History

21

25

Amelia Earhart: The Truth at Last

Mike Campbell

History

22

—

The Descendants of Johann Peter Klinger and Catharina Steinbruch

Max Klinger

Genealogy

23

—

Bows, Bullets, and Bears

John Moore

History

24

—

Dying for Vengeances

J M West

Detective Thriller

25

—

There is Something About Rough and Ready

Lawrence Knorr, et al

History

26

6

Capital Murder

Chris Papst

Investigation

27

—

Tulpehocken Trail Traces

Steve Troutman

History

28

—

Lost in the Shadow of Fame

William Lemanski

Biography

29

—

Cannons, Cattle, and Campfires

John Moore

History

30

—

Traders, Travelers, and Tomahawks

John Moore

History

Sunbury Press had its second-worst month of the year in November. Sales were down 27% from last November. “After the terror attacks in Paris on the 13th, there was a two-week lull in sales,” explained Sunbury Press CEO, Lawrence Knorr. Overall, sales are still up 72% compared to last year.

Barbara Blank’s biography “Mary Sachs” took the top spot thanks to events in Mary’s native Harrisburg. Steve Troutman took four spots in the top 30 with “The Penn’s Manor” (#2), “The Trevorton, Mahanoy, and Susquehanna Railroad” (#4), “Geology of the Mahanoy …” (#6), and Tulpehocken Trail Traces (#27). Steve has increased his speaking engagements. Lawrence Knorr’s “A Pennsylvania Mennonite and the California Gold Rush” moved up to 3rd due to orders from Gold Rush country. Knorr also took #25 with “There is Something About Rough and Ready” due to Troutman’s activities. J. M. West’s new mystery “Darkness at First Light” debuted at #5. It’s prequel, “Dying for Vengeance,” charted at #24. Ms. West has been making appearances in the Carlisle area. Joe Fair’s Vietnam memor, “Call Sign Dracula,” returned to the charts at #6 thanks to author activities. Alan Mindell took lucky #7 and #11 with his two novels — “The B Team” and “The Closer.” Alan continues to have success on the speaking circuit in the San Diego area. “Where Elephants Fought,” the historical Civil War novel by Mississippian Bridget Smith held at #8 due to author appearances. Tony Julian’s “Pit Bulls” was #9, as it was a popular Christmas gift at online stores. Marie Sontag grabbed 3 spots with her YA novels: “Rising Hope” (#12), “The Bronze Dagger” (#13), and “The Alabaster Jar (#15). Marie continues her tour of schools in the San Jose area. Ernie Marshall’s “That Night at Surigao” moved up to #14 thanks to steady interest among naval historians. William Lemanski nabbed two spots with his new historical detective thriller “Murder in Tuxedo Park” (#16), and his biography of Kermit Roosevelt “Lost in the Shadow of Fame” (#28). Lemanski has been making appearances in and about Tuxedo Park, NY. “Raising Monarchs” by Sue Fox McGovern held steady at #17 due to continued interest in the declining butterfly population. Kyle Alexander Romine’s “Keeper of the Crows” slipped from the top spot to #18, following the Halloween period. “The Sign of the Eagle” by Jess Steven Hughes climbed back to #19, as the author continued his tours of the Northwest. Ron Knorr and Clemmie Whatley’s history “The Segregated Georgia School for the Deaf” continued to chart at #20 due to interest in the subject matter. Mike Campbell’s “Amelia Earhart: The Truth at Last” continued its steady sales at #21. “The Descendants of Johann Peter Klinger and Catharina Steinbruch” by Max Klinger returned to the chart at #22 thanks to Steve Troutman’s activities. John Moore grabbed three spots with three of his eight “Frontier Pennsylvania Series” titles: “Bows, Bullets, and Bears” (#23), “Cannons, Cattle, and Campfires” (#29), and “Traders, Travelers, and Tomahawks” (#30). Chris Papst’s “Capital Murder” slide to #26, as interest in the Harrisburg mayoral scandal wanes in favor of the PA State Attorney General scandal.